My Name is Bin Mohamed

www.kopihangtuah.blogspot.com

.... my name has two "Alarm Triggering" words. They are "Bin" and "Mohamed". That in itself, qualifies me for unfair treatment by immigration officers .....

ecently I watched the movie My Name is Khan. It is indeed an inspiring movie for those who are sincere in ensuring that Muslims are not mistreated simply by way of stereotyping as a result of the ill-actions by fanatics and extremists that kill thousands in the name of Allah. "In the name of Allah" seems to be their martyr reason. What does that really mean? Killing innocent human beings just to make a point? Just to say that we Muslims are not happy with what the world is doing to us? Utter crap really. That act in itself makes the treatment against Muslims worse than what they alreay are. Of course I am against those unreasonable Jihadists that make Islam a bad name. Concurrently, I am also annoyed with non-Muslims who, conveniently, take advantage over such situation to out cast Muslims from society. There have been many cases. That movie My Name is Khan is not a made up scenario. It happens. It is real. Muslims (good ones) seem to be caught in the middle between unfair non-Muslims and extremist Muslims. In the first place, I am not sure whether those people (extremist Muslims) qualify as Muslim, given their non-advocacy of humanitarian approach.

I can share with you my own experiences in Western countries to demonstrate how the lives of Muslims have become somewhat melancholy with the wake of such hatred against Islam. 9-11 just makes it worse to unforgiveable proportion. I am a Muslim Malay man from Malaysia and my name has two "Alarm Triggering" words. They are "Bin" and "Mohamed". That in itself, qualifies me for unfair treatment by immigration officers. Everytime I pass through immigration, I feel jittery. Not because I have done something wrong, but because I get pulled aside for questioning all the time and the fear of them (immigration officers) not believing what I have to say. It is indeed unfair to me whilst the citizens of those countries may feel that it is fair to them for the sake for the security of their country. In any case, I leave it to you (readers) to decide how best the world should be (in your own heads). So here is my story:

The Pacifics

The American immigration officer only has a few discouraging words, "Malaysia? where the hell is this?".

I travelled the Pacifics for work years ago. To be exact, Republic of Marshall Islands, Commonwealth of Northern Marianna Island, Micronesia Islands and Guam (USA). The immigration, defense and airlines for these islands are controlled by either the Government of USA or companies of USA origin. As mentioned earlier, my passport triggers alarm. Any Malaysian passport for that matter does this regardless whether you are Abu bin Ahmad, Lim Ah Chong or Guna Seelan. The American immigration officer only has a few discouraging words, "Malaysia? where the hell is this?".

He refused to acknowledge Malaysia and wouldn't even bothered to call head office to find out. All he said was that If I wanted to board the plane, I will have to surrender my passport to them for which they will return back to me at the port of destination. I had no choice. I had to take the risk because I have to do my work there on the islands. Imagine travelling with your passport not by your side! what a risky move. Anyway, I followed the instructions. Upon arriving, it took me hours of efforts trying to locate my passport which I finally got. It was left with the pilot and the pilot was about to fly off to another port with it! Damn fool! I was lucky.

The United Kingdom

Apart from the short employment in the Pacifics, I was also given the opportunity to work in London, UK. Here, I thought, will be a safe place for me because there are tonnes of Muslims living in London. But No,.... I was unlucky again. That year, 2005, the extremists bombed most of the tube stations in London. What a chaotic incident. Hatred towards Muslims just got worse and the worst so far back then. I was lucky that I wasn't in any of those tube stations.

It is indeed an unwelcoming feeling when the Brits stare at you. Maybe because I look like a Middle Eastern. There was once, me and my mate, an Egyptian, were working at one of the British company. He pursuaded me to join him for prayers. I agreed, but little that I knew that he wanted to perform the prayers in an open area under the staircase near the elevators. That was my most uncomfortable prayer in my entire life. I couldn't concentrate a single second. Why? People were staring at us. Damn Egyptian...... Anyway, that wasn't the worst.

Once I was travelling in my jeans, jumper and looking pretty rugged because of my habit of not shaving for a whole week until it is Monday morning. Along with me was a heavy bag full of printed materials. Nevermind the printed matter because from the outside, it does look like a heavy "stuff" if you catch my drift. Two police officers stopped me at Marylbone Station. They were polite though. They explained to me that under their Terrorism Act, they have to stop people at random to check profiles, etc. The had so many questions. Where was I from? Where was I going? Where is my passport? How do I pronounce my name? What nationality I am? Do I have families in London? Which countries have I visited lately and the whole works!

"How random is random when you selected me?". They (police) answered, "Well Sir, we can assure you that it was random". I said, "Well, I don't see you stopping any Caucasians".

I only had one question, "How random is random when you selected me?". They (police) answered, "Well Sir, we can assure you that it was random". I said, "Well, I don't see you stopping any Caucasians". To give credit to those officers, they were still polite to me. They gave me a notice ticket as evidence that they have done their job under some Terrorism Act. Such was life of a Muslim back then in London. I am pretty sure they picked me because of profiling approach. For all you know, bombings can be done by Caucasians themselves! Remember the Ireland Republic Army debacle? Well, then was then. I was okay about it. In fact, I was thrilled because the minute I was home, I told my wife "Honey! I was stopped by Policeman as suspect for terrorism" with a joy and happy face. But of course,... I am not proud of it and I am upset from a wider perspective of dignity of the religion that I belong to.

The United States of America

Of course my examples have to include the USA to be complete. I also had the privilege of working in Miami for a few months. This experience was the worst. I arrived Miami having the immigration officers pulling me aside into an interogation room for two hours. Two bloody hours! My boss, who was a Caucasian British, only had one thing to say, "Next time, I'm not bringing you to the US". The questions they asked me was really out of this world! As usual, Where do I come from? What am I doing in the US? How do I pronounce my name? Why is my surname Mohamed? If I am Muslim, why am I not Middle Eastern? and all sorts of stupid questions.

.... the ones (questions by immigration officers) that really amused me were, Have you studied Chemical Engineering? Have you done any military training? Why is your passport not allowed to enter Israel?

But the ones that really amused me were, Have you studied Chemical Engineering before? Have you done any military training before? I can see that you have been to Egypt, why and what was that for? Why is your passport not allowed to enter Israel? What has your country have against Israel? Blimmey.... inside my heart, I was cursing the Malaysian High Commission for barring Malaysian passports from entering Israel.

Then I continued staying in Miami for a week or so to do my work. When it was time for me to leave,.. guess what?... they pulled me aside again! another two bloody hours again! and what was more amusing was that, they asked the same bloody questions again! I think it is their procedure to ask the exact same questions again so that they can check the consistency of my answers. Had I answered those questions for the second round differently from the first round, I would have probably ended up in Guantanamo Bay prisons. God help me. I was lucky again. The professional suits and the clean shaven face did not help this time. I always get stuck with authorities because my passpost has the names "Bin" and "Mohamed".... a bit like Shah Rukh Khan in that movie because his name is Khan. I really hope that all this will improve over time. Both, Muslims and non-Muslims must play their part in making this world a better place. They must coexist. Amin (Amen).





* kopihangtuah



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